These Easy Green Beans are easy enough for weeknight dinner but special enough to serve for holiday dinners as well! It's a family favorite recipe will be your go-to vegetable side dish!
Some of my other favorite green bean recipes include Savory Green Beans with mushrooms, and Green Bean Salad.
Nanou's Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic
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When you love food as much as I do, there is nothing better than marrying into a family full of excellent cooks. So I did just that! As I mentioned in this post and this post, J's mom makes some pretty delicious food. This makes sense considering the fact that she learned from one of the best, J's grandma, who we all affectionately call Nanou.
She also had some incredible recipes, which she was gracious enough to share with us. One such mainstay at our dinner table is her garlic green beans recipe aka the perfect side dish for any dinner. Blanched or steamed green beans that are then sautéed in a large skillet in mix of butter and olive oil. Minced garlic adds that rich, garlicky flavor without being overwhelming and fresh parsley adds the perfect amount of herbaceous freshness.
Tips for how to cook green beans:
- Use fresh green beans for this green bean recipe. Sure, canned or frozen can be slightly quicker, but the fresh ones have the very best texture.
- Blanching to start cooking green beans is helpful in speeding up the saute process later in the recipe and helping get just the right texture, but make sure you run them under cold water immediately after (or plunge them into an ice bath) to stop the cooking process until you add the green beans to the saute pan. That way, you'll end up with the perfect tender crisp texture we all love.
- Give the fresh garlic a couple minutes to saute in the butter and olive oil over medium high heat before adding the green beans. One of the first times I made this, I was rushing through it and didn't let the garlic cook much. As you can imagine, we were all in for a rude awakening in that first bite! Still tasty, but letting it cooking a bit will develop that delicious garlic flavor without the edge.
- When you season with salt and pepper, start with a small amount and taste it as you go so that they are seasoned to your liking.
- Don't skip the parsley! Seriously, this makes the sautéed green beans dish!
How do I prepare the green beans for cooking?
I trim the ends off of the beans and then they're ready to go!
Can I blanch green beans ahead of time?
Yes! The key is getting them right into an ice bath/cold water to stop the cooking. Cover and refrigerate until it's time to saute. You can also make the entire recipe ahead and then reheat before serving. It reheats beautifully.
Can I saute string beans without blanching?
Yes, you'll just need to adjust the cooking time to get the texture you want.
Can I use frozen or canned beans?
This recipe is at its absolute best with fresh green beans That said, frozen will work in a pinch, just skip the blanching and add them directly to the pan. I really don't encourage you to use canned as they're already super soft but if thats all you have, just be sure to wait until the very end to add them.
What do I season green beans with?
This recipe only uses salt, pepper, fresh garlic and parsley. I know that sounds minimal, but trust me, it packs a punch!
Ingredients for making String Beans
- Fresh green beans
- Butter
- Olive oil
- Fresh garlic
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Fresh chopped parsley
Ingredients to prep ahead:
- Trim and blanch green beans
- Peel garlic
Helpful tools:
Video Tutorial for making Easy Sauteed Green Beans
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Easy Sauteed Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh green beans, cleaned and trimmed
- 2-4 Tablespoons salted butter (you can halve it with olive oil if you want to make it a bit healthier)
- 3-4 cloves fresh garlic, minced or pressed
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper. to taste
Instructions
- Blanch the green beans for around 7-8 minutes and drain well. Run under cold water to stop cooking.
- In a saute pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.
- Add the garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently until fragrant.
- Add the beans and the parsley and mix all together.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
Notes
If you tried this recipe please comment and rate it 🙂 I love hearing your feedback and answering your questions! And if you make this please tag me on Instagram with @thelifejolie so I can share it <3
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